Passion, Hobby, or Purpose?

Forbes Woman
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By Sonita Lontoh

How many of you have ever considered quitting your job to pursue your passion? Especially when you are miserable at work?

A few years ago, I was in a role and work environment that were not a good fit for me, and I was really tempted to believe that if I just quit and followed my passion, I would be happy. Problem was, I did not actually know whether what I thought was my passion was just a hobby or could be a real career. Also, I do not have children, so the idea to just quit work altogether and not have a career at all (or at least a project) made me feel guilty for my very existence. Looking back, I am glad I did not just quit the miserable job. Instead, I worked on a transition plan and focused on finding a purpose where my passion and skills could be put to use to help fill a need in this world.

People are often mistaken in the belief that in order to be happy, they need to pursue their "passion." This belief is further reinforced by the millennial generations entering the workforce today, who proselytize to pursue their passion. There also seems to be a clear distinction between what constitute "non-passionate" careers—businessmen, lawyers, bankers—and "passionate" careers—teachers, writers, artists. Although this line of thinking affects both men and women, there seems to be a belief that women are more likely to be in a position to pursue their passion for a “full-time career” because they are not usually the main breadwinner in the family. This somewhat also implies that passionate careerists oftentimes cannot make a good enough living to be the main breadwinner. After all, how many writers become Pulitzer-winning or best-selling authors? Is following your passion worth it?

I believe this type of thinking is flawed because time and again, it has been shown that in order to be happy, both men and women need to have a purpose in life. There is a difference between having a purpose and a passion or hobby. For example, just because someone likes fashion as a hobby, it does not necessarily mean he/she will make a successful career as a fashion designer. Instead of confusing passion, hobby and career, I suggest people focus on finding a purpose—finding ways to leverage your passion and skills to fill a need in the world. Notice that I chose my words carefully—fill a need, not solve a problem. Filling a need means working towards something that is useful for others, which may or may not solve their problems in the strictest sense. For example, Facebook fills people’s need to be connected and entertained, which makes them happy, even though it may or may not solve their problems. Finding a solution to climate change fills a need for others and solves one of the world’s biggest problems. Thus, filling a need can run the gamut from creating useful apps for the iPhone to solving the world’s biggest problems such as poverty, education, health care, climate change, sustainability, et cetera.

People who are working hard to fill a need and solve the biggest problems are often compensated in the biggest ways, not just in financial terms, but also in terms of human satisfaction. Filling a need shifts the focus from you to others. It shifts the conversation from what you like to do (having a passion or hobby) to how you can be a valuable contributor in helping society fills its needs (having a purpose). This paradigm shift in thinking is quite empowering as it shifts the frame of reference from the self to how we can help others. People become less self-absorbed and ironically, more likely to be genuinely happy. Don’t you sometimes find that you’re happiest when you don’t think too much about how to become happy?

The good news is that there are a lot of big needs in this world to fill. Each of us has the unique skills to fill some subsets of these biggest needs. Which ones resonate with you?

There are a few things you can do to try to figure this out. Broaden your horizon and network with others who may be working to fill a need and solve big problems. Look to fill a need or solve problems with which you can personally identify. Develop emotional maturity to realize that the world does not revolve around you.

We don't find true happiness by focusing on ourselves, but we do by connecting with and helping others.

True happiness comes from the intersection of doing what we love, what we’re good at, and what the world needs. The easiest is to focus on the first, try to combine it with the second and most importantly, the last.

Sonita Lontoh is an executive at Trilliant. She is a green technology expert recognized on Wikipedia and is a frequent speaker/contributor on energy, clean tech, and women leadership topics. She is passionate about leveraging innovation to transform our energy use so as to combat climate change and to encourage more women in technology leadership positions. Sonita earned her Master of Engineering degree from MIT, where she was also cross-registered at the Harvard Business School. She holds an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research from UC Berkeley. Follow Sonita on Twitter @slontoh.

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